Any book about music with the words “tradition and innovation” in its title is likely to attract the attention of folklorists, particularly when these words are reinforced by the word “legacy.” This book is a series of profiles of African-American blues performers currently or recently active in the city of Chicago, many of them based on interviews by the author. Although a few of the artists passed away before publication, the emphasis is on the Chicago blues scene of today. The author maintains that these artists carry on a musical legacy from older generations of blues performers in the city while also introducing changes in style and repertoire to keep the music up-to-date, personalized, and forward looking. The book also examines changes in the blues audience, blues venues, and ways of making a living from the music, as well as the performers’ attitudes toward these changes and their own positions within the city’s blues scene. I am torn between reviewing this book as it is and commenting myself on the topic it describes, so I will do a bit of both, raising the question of whether the topic represents any kind of reality.
Following a brief introduction in which some of the book’s issues are outlined, the artist profiles are organized into four sections, Bequeathers, Council of Elders, Inheritors, and Heirs Apparent. The Bequeathers are James Cotton, Eddie Shaw, Jimmy Johnson, Eddy Clearwater, and Jimmy Burns, all of whom arrived in Chicago by the 1950s or early 1960s and participated in the city’s postwar blues scene at its generally acknowledged artistic peak. The Council of Elders, consisting of Billy Boy Arnold, Buddy Guy, Syl Johnson, Mary Lane, Sam Lay, Holle Thee Maxwell, Otis Rush, and Byther Smith, are of the same generation and background, the only difference being that their profiles are shorter and do not contain quotations from interviews by the author. The Inheritors are of a younger generation, though often in their 50s and 60s, and include Lil’ Ed, Big Bill Morganfield, Kenny Smith, the Taylor Family, John Primer (who in my opinion belongs in the Bequeathers section), Shemekia Copeland, Sugar Blue, Nellie “Tiger” Travis, Floyd Taylor, Deitra Farr, and Ronnie Baker Brooks, all of whom were interviewed by the author. Most of the artists listed so far are familiar to blues fans nationally and internationally through their tours and recordings. The Heirs Apparent have shorter profiles and are mostly younger and struggling to establish themselves in the Chicago scene, being less familiar outside the city. They include Lurrie Bell, Wayne Baker Brooks, Toronzo Cannon, Omar Coleman, Tomiko Dixon, Honeydew, Syleena Johnson, Vance Kelly, the band Masheen Company, Melody Angel, Big James Montgomery, Mud Morganfield, Jo Jo Murray, The Kinsey Report, Mzz Reese, the Original Chicago Blues All Stars, Chick Rodgers, Jamiah Rogers, Source One Band, Tre’, and Willie White.
The longer profiles in the Bequeathers and Inheritors sections give generally adequate career histories of the artists, although one would like to have more specific dates attached to some of the personalities and events. The shorter profiles in the other sections are somewhat less satisfying and sometimes give the impression of being publicity blurbs. It would also be nice to have more information on the artists’ repertoires in order to determine whether the concept of “legacy” carries over to the songs they perform. Nevertheless, in their totality the profiles appear to represent most of the main African-American blues performers active in the city in recent years.
The quotations from interviews often discuss matters of race, both in the artists’ youth and upbringing and in respect to audiences, fellow musicians, and people in the music business in Chicago. Race, or more specifically the involvement of white people in the blues, is in fact one of the main themes of this book, and not surprisingly one encounters a wide variety of opinions and experiences from the point of view of the African-American artists. The other main theme is that of “legacy.” This is explored both in terms of the music and in a more literal sense. It is striking how many of the Inheritors, and even some of the Heirs Apparent, are children or grandchildren of famous blues artists who would themselves fall into the categories of Bequeathers or Council of Elders if they were still living. The author sees this as a positive development, and perhaps it is. But it is also a rather recent development in the blues, and one that finds parallels in blues scenes in other parts of the country. If one of the Bequeathers or Council of Elders had an older relative who performed blues, it was never anyone of importance in the music’s history or who served as a major role model, mentor, or patron. The newer concept of literal blues inheritance is something that largely began in the post-“Roots” 1980s. It would seem that a music whose older exponents were often transgressors of family and community authority has since then joined forces with “family values.” Whether this represents a strengthening of the genre or a contraction of it to where it is guarded and maintained by a few families while the rest of the community moves on to more contemporary forms of music will bear watching.
The representation of blues by African-American artists with a family legacy in the music also coincides with an increasing white involvement (some would call it a takeover) as audiences, performers, managers, promoters, record producers, publicists, and organizers. Some whites view themselves as outsiders and maintain a purist attitude that this is black music and can only be authentically performed by black musicians. Others, however, maintain that it is a music open to anyone. In either case, it is undeniable that whites are on the scene and are involved with Chicago blues at all levels, often calling the shots. Yet in this book their voices are barely heard, and not a single white artist is profiled. They are portrayed as a force affecting the scene from outside. Their presence and involvement are mentioned frequently, but the reader ultimately comes away thinking that there is a black blues scene in the city that is largely sustained through the concept of “legacy,” in other words, a self-sustaining black blues scene, albeit largely supported by white audiences and record purchasers.
This is the third book by David Whiteis about contemporary blues by black performers, and the second to focus on the Chicago blues scene. Like it or not, it seems to be time now for an author to give us the perspectives of white performers, audiences, and blues activists, or a balance of black and white perspectives.
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[Review length: 1106 words • Review posted on May 21, 2020]